Five things that gave Nitish Kumar-led NDA a landslide victory in Bihar Assembly election

‘Das Hazari Chunaav Hai, Doosri Taraf Katta Sarkar Hai (It is the Rs 10,000 election, it is a lawless government on the other side)’ – this is the line that has swung the election for the NDA led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

While it was the Rs 10,000 scheme for 1.3 crore women by the CM which solidified his women voter base and contributed to a record women voter of over 71 per cent, it was the PM’s words in election rallies of ‘katta, dunali, rangdari’ (guns and lawlessness) that reminded the voters of the jungle raj that would be back in Bihar if the RJD returns. Modi’s popularity in Bihar helped reinforce this message in the psyche of the people.

Both these messages, of the CM and the PM, worked in conjunction to convince the voters, especially the women voters, to keep their faith in the NDA. With the Rs 10,000 already reaching their bank accounts, women reinforced their belief in Nitish Kumar rather than believe the promise of Tejashwi Yadav that he will give them Rs 2500 per month if he wins.

What added to the mix for the NDA was the free electricity given to all domestic consumers till 125 units – which was a game-changer in villages where people invariably had nothing to pay as electricity bills. “Hamare gaon mein toh bhains bhi pankhe ke niche soti hai (In our village, even the buffalo sleeps under a fan)”, said a villager.

The cherry on the cake was Nitish Kumar enhancing the old-age pension for 1.2 crore senior citizens from Rs 400 to Rs 1,100. The seniors in Bihar saw this as a big gift from their contemporary, Nitish Kumar, and all the talk of the CM’s failing mental acumen fell aside. Nitish Kumar was back in the reckoning among people as a ‘wise, senior leader’ and whom people had a lot of goodwill for.

“We do not want to retire Nitish Kumar with a defeat. We will make him win and let him choose his time and moment for retirement,” a group of villagers had told the correspondent in Rohtas.

That said, there surely was some unhappiness on the ground with the NDA over the unemployment situation that Kumar as the CM has not been able to effectively resolve over the last two decades. Some saw Nitish’s Rs 10,000 aid for women, the free electricity roll-out and old age pension hike as the counters to the unemployment issue that was an ace up the opposition’s sleeve.

But in the end, it seems that any anti-incumbency vote on the account of unemployment got split between the RJD and the other opposition player, the party of Prashant Kishor who had also developed a popularity amongst the youth by raising the unemployment and migration issue.

The Mahagathbandan also made a cardinal mistake in the election campaign a few months ago – when it shifted its focus from the plank of lawlessness in the NDA regime – to the SIR issue. A murder in the heart of Patna, of industrialist Gopal Khemka in July, had shocked Bihar and the NDA government was under fire.

But soon after, Congress under Rahul Gandhi shifted the Mahagathbandan’s focus to the SIR issue with the ‘Vote Adhikar Yatra’ across the state. The SIR issue lost its relevance by the time the elections came and ‘vote chori’ was hardly a conversation amongst voters when the time to press the EVM button came.

In hindsight, it was a big tactical blunder by the Mahagathbandan to shift its focus from the purported lawlessness under the NDA regime, to the SIR issue.

This election is also a big moment for Nitish Kumar who has improved his strike rate from the 2020 election when his party performed the worst since 2005 – winning just 43 out of the 115 seats it contested. This time, out of 101 seats it has contested, the JDU looks set to win well over half the seats.

Kumar’s improved strike rate is also a statement after his party’s slogan ’25 se 30, Phir Nitish’ (From 2025 to 2030, it will be again Nitish Kumar) – settling firmly the question that Kumar will be Chief Minister again and truly the ‘Baadshah of Bihar’.

(Source: News18.com)